Become A Music Monster Overnight! [EN]: Chapter 176

Music Monster Overnight! Episode 167

51. Leon

YC Entertainment, under Youngchan’s direction, finalized contracts with several actors in addition to Taehee.

Interestingly, all of them were either previously unknown or had experienced limited success.

This suggested their potential had remained untapped for a considerable time, which was somewhat concerning. However, they were signed based on a strong conviction that their potential would explode in the upcoming ‘Squid Season 3’.

Naturally, Taehee was considered the most promising among them.

This belief solidified during the filming of the scene where Youngchan and Taehee clash, anticipated to be the most pivotal scene of the season.

“Ignore… ignore me!”

Her inflated vanity, which she couldn’t relinquish even in the depths of her despair.

Hani’s madness, her eyes rolling back just before she snapped, was genuinely terrifying.

Her madness, though lasting only a minute or less on screen, was enough to alter the drama’s trajectory.

Regardless of her own fate, she disrupted the order established by the mastermind, who sought to extinguish her vanity.

Hani, who initiated such a roller-coaster-like shift, smirked at the mastermind’s bewildered emotion, which she sensed even behind the mask, and then breathed her last.

“…A crazy bitch.”

The mastermind, watching Hani laugh in excruciating pain as she died, finally uttered those words.

Even he, whose sociopathic tendencies surpassed her father’s, couldn’t easily dismiss Hani’s madness.

“…That’s really terrifying. How could an actress like that have been unknown until now?”

Youngchan, who filmed the scene with Hani, shook his head as he watched Taehee revert to her slightly awkward self as soon as the director signaled OK.

He had considered Lee Na-eun and Kang A-young geniuses, but he now regarded Taehee as a genius of a different magnitude.

Thinking that, Youngchan shook his head again.

“…Actually, talent alone isn’t enough to guarantee success.”

This was evident when comparing Taehee to Lee Na-eun and Kang A-young.

Lee Na-eun, who had become an irreplaceable top solo female singer in Korea, and Kang A-young, a trot [Korean pop music genre] goddess also revered as an actress, had both spent unbelievably long periods in obscurity.

“Maybe both of them might have given up on their current paths.”

The life of an entertainer who isn’t in demand, whether as a singer or an actor, is a living hell.

It’s like hanging from a cliff to savor a moment of sweet honey.

When their strength wanes, they face a choice.

Either hold on until the end and fall when their strength is completely depleted, or relinquish the sweet honey and somehow escape the cliff to find another path.

In any case, Youngchan couldn’t help but be amazed by Taehee, who was about to shine again after being unknown, and by Lee Na-eun and Kang A-young, who were increasingly unleashing their potential.

However, the individuals who elicited the most admiration on this set weren’t them.

“…She was devoured.”

Taehee, who delivered a performance that felt not only like Hani possessed but even beyond, felt her heart pound just thinking of YC, who had overwhelmed her without uttering a single line.

The online community’s description of him as a demon king was by no means an exaggeration.

YC, or rather, the mastermind he portrayed, was truly a demon king who instilled fear and despair in people.

She, who played Hani, knew that Hani, who died protecting her vanity until her last breath, didn’t laugh simply because she had struck a blow against the mastermind.

Rather, it was because death allowed her to escape from the demon king who would cruelly trample her and ultimately drive her into despair and fear.

Of course, Director Woo, who wrote the script for ‘Squid Season 3’, might have a different interpretation, but at least that’s how Hani felt.

Hani wasn’t the only one who showed astonished admiration for the mastermind played by YC.

“Looking back, worrying about his long hiatus was a foolish thought.”

Director Woo couldn’t maintain a positive outlook regarding YC’s extended break.

He worried that his unique aura might have diminished, but that concern vanished during the first script reading for ‘Squid Season 3’.

Even though it was just a simple script reading, he exuded an overwhelming presence.

No, he sensed an even more intense aura than before.

YC’s aura was already formidable in the past, but now it felt like something solid had taken root at its core.

“He mentioned releasing a new song next year, right?”

Consequently, he naturally anticipated Black Tiger’s next album.

Although it was difficult to comprehend how it was possible, YC’s new music, which seemed to have grown even more profound, was something that even he, who wasn’t particularly interested in rock, couldn’t help but eagerly await.

After four months of filming, Youngchan had to move on to another set without rest.

He was scheduled to film a cameo or a supporting role in a spin-off drama of the overseas ‘Squid’.

Although the filming commitment was small, the issue was that there were two ‘Squid’ spin-off dramas, not just one.

This meant he had to live and film abroad for at least two more months.

About a month after arriving at the new filming location.

The movie that people around the world had been eagerly awaiting was finally released.

The second installment of ‘The King of Arrogance’ finally graced the world.

* * *

Finding him was a genuine stroke of luck.

Due to an unforeseen problem, filming was postponed, granting me some free time that I hadn’t enjoyed in a while.

But I wasn’t in Korea, and there wasn’t much to do in a small German town with a population of only 30,000.

“The internet is terribly slow….”

Unlike a major city, the internet in a hotel in such a small town was unlikely to function properly.

So there weren’t many activities available to me.

“What do people here do for fun? Is there nothing to enjoy besides beer and sausage?”

As I was on the verge of succumbing to boredom, the local manager suggested.

“Would you like to go to a club since it’s the weekend?”

“A club?”

Come to think of it, Germany was quite renowned for its clubs.

But I didn’t expect there to be a club in such a small town, so I couldn’t conceal my interest and naturally followed him.

But the place I arrived at was, as expected, quite different from the club I had envisioned.

“It was more like a rock cafe.”

And it was a rock cafe with a rather wholesome atmosphere.

Consequently, the most enjoyable aspect was that the sausage they served was the most delicious sausage I had ever tasted in Germany.

“…This is a sausage 맛집 [mat-jib, a Korean slang term for a really good restaurant].”

That’s how I felt because the skills of the bands that took the stage were truly terrible.

‘Well, I didn’t expect much in the first place. But it’s a bit too much….’

The stage, which resembled an amateur talent show more than anything else, was really hard to endure.

Still, the culture of a strange town, and the amazing sausage and beer, provided some comfort, so it wasn’t all that unbearable.

Then there was a sound that startled me.

“Ooooo!!”

A voice that cut through the sound of the terrible band.

At the same time, my inspiration surged.

“Ugh… I feel like I’m going to throw up.”

“Yes? You didn’t eat as much as usual….”

I could sense the manager, who also served as my bodyguard, panicking at my words. I silently waved my hand at him as if to say I was okay, and then began to search for the source of the voice that had ignited my inspiration.

‘It’s not the vocalist… Who is it?’

It seemed that the band had a sub-vocalist to support the lacking lead vocalist, so I scanned the stage to find him, and soon I realized who it was.

It was the band’s bassist, who had been particularly noticeable since they first came on.

I was concerned, but not in a positive way.

“Wow~ the bass playing is the most terrible.”

The bass, as well as the drums, was so off-time that a proper ensemble was impossible.

I thought it would be a hundred times better to just omit it.

‘But what a twist!’

The manager and everyone else here didn’t seem to recognize what was so special about the sound, which was just a humming to liven up the mood.

“No, the band members don’t seem to know either.”

If they did, they wouldn’t have allowed him to play that ridiculous bass.

That’s how unique the bassist’s voice was.

‘I didn’t get this feeling even with Jamie.’

Even Jamie’s fantastic voice, considered the reincarnation of Karen Carpenter, paled in comparison to his voice.

So I couldn’t help but be intrigued by him.

The problem was that it was difficult to see him because I was in a corner, but fortunately, I was able to get a good look at him when one song ended and they took a break.

“Mixed race? No… he’s Asian.”

I was momentarily confused because of the heavy makeup, but when I realized that the bassist was Asian, I felt strange.

It was strange that there was an Asian in such a remote place, and the probability of him being a truly exceptional vocal talent was so low.

“Oh, he’s finally going off stage.”

The manager muttered with a bored expression at the band that had left the stage after playing three more songs.

While they were performing, no one cheered, which wasn’t surprising given the manager’s grumbling.

But that didn’t mean that anyone was booing or sneering.

This was partly because Germany has a strong individualistic culture, but more than that, it seemed that the people who came here didn’t have high expectations for the bands that performed in the first place.

Anyway, now that I was finally able to meet him, I quickly said to the manager.

“The bass player. Bring the kid who played the bass.”

“Yes?”

The manager, who didn’t understand what I meant at first, looked embarrassed.

“No, no. Even if he’s terrible, wouldn’t it be a bit harsh to scold him?”

“…What are you talking about? It’s not like that, so just bring him over as politely as possible.”

“Okay. Then please wait a moment.”

I shook my head as I watched him get up and approach them, who were sitting and chatting not far from the stage.

This manager often says such absurd things because he’s a bit clueless.

But despite that, the reason I keep him as my manager is because he’s very diligent and has an intimidating appearance that surpasses Park Sung-ryul.

He has a huge physique and a menacing face, like a foreign version of Uncle Kwak Do-hoon.

If I met him in a dark place, I might be more scared than encountering a ghost.

In fact, he was a martial artist, so the company didn’t object even if I took him with me as a bodyguard.

Anyway, since he approached them, the band that had been on stage a little while ago was visibly uneasy.

This is because drunks sometimes cause trouble in bars.

And in rock cafes, the targets of most drunks are usually bands.

As a band that has been active in such rock cafes, they have become quite experienced in dealing with such situations, but even they couldn’t dare to confront this huge, unfamiliar man.

It was even more so because he looked like he could tear them apart with his bare hands.

But fortunately, the stranger didn’t intend to harm them.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to speak with him for a moment.”

“Le… Leon?”

“Why… the youngest?”

“…gulp.”

At his words that he wanted to talk to Leon, the youngest member and bassist of the team, the band members were afraid but soon tried to protect him.

The characteristics of such small provinces are similar everywhere, and most people know each other.

Of course, their relationship is also one that they have known since they were young. They are not family, but they are close to being neighbors.

The manager didn’t feel offended by their reaction.

He knew very well how his appearance was perceived in the world, so this kind of situation was not new to him.